Mother Pulled From Burning Port Vue Home Dies
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PORT VUE (KDKA) -- It was last Thursday morning at 842 Elmwood Street when a smoky fire broke out. A young man staying at the home yelled for neighbors to call 911. They did that and more.
They grabbed a ladder and jumped into action trying to kick doors in and climb on the roof to save the neighbor they loved and her young son.
Port Vue Fire Department firefighters rescued Faith Noll and Nathan, her 11-year-old son who has autism, from the second floor. EMS worked on the mother and son on the front lawn but they were unresponsive.
Neighbors and six fire departments were all part of the rescue.
Meghan Schiller's Report:
"It's amazing that someone would put their life at risk that's not a freighter to save another's life. I thanked [the neighbor] when I got here," Port Vue Assistant Fire Chief Don Williams said.
Neighbors and family gathered at Noll's home Monday night are left with a void knowing she has died, but the amazing strength of her love keeps them strong.
"Gotta stay strong for Nathan, make sure he's OK. So as long as I'm focused on him, then I'm pretty much OK for now because he's the most important thing to me right now," the victim's 21-year-old daughter, Sarah Noll, said.
According to the family, the fire started due to a faulty electrical socket in the living room, which caused the couch to catch on fire.
Williams says there were no working smoke detectors in the house.
"There were no smoke detectors that we could find in the house. Smoke detectors are important. Had there been a smoke detector in the house, I think the outcome would have been a lot different," Williams said.
If there is a light in this sad chapter, it's the love of neighbors and family, something they say Noll created because of her heart to love and help everyone.
Noll's daughters say it was not "uncommon for her to forget the little things like batteries because she had so many bigger things to worry about. Nathan can be a handful."
Noll also cared for her grandchildren during the day.
Noll's younger daughter, a registered nurse, will be taking her little brother home from the hospital to live with her, something the mom of these two daughters would no doubt have been very proud of.
Noll was also suffering with Lupus. Not to mention, she survived another house fire. In 2000 when her daughters were little, the home they lived in burned to the ground and they lost everything.
The community is preparing a spaghetti dinner and the Port Vue Fire Department is planning a big boot drive to raise funds for the family. Port Vue's fire department is also applying for additional grant money to make sure every home has a working smoke detector to prevent another tragedy. The fire marshal is still investigating.
Nathan is expected to be released from the hospital Tuesday and will make a full recovery.
